Former WWE ring announcer Justin Roberts says WWE skewed a story of an 8-year-old fan who died of cancer final year to lift a corporate image. Roberts, who worked with WWE from 2002 to 2014, summarized his claims in a minute first-person letter posted to Medium on Thursday night.

At a core of a story is immature fan Connor “The Crusher” Michalek, who became a initial fan to be inducted into a WWE Hall of Fame final month when he was given a premier “Warrior Award.” Roberts says in a letter he was “very most okay” with WWE honoring Michalek, though not fine with WWE’s motives behind it, that he says were “twisted” to emanate good publicity.

Part of WWE’s restructuring of a story, according to Roberts, was slicing his purpose in it entirely, notwithstanding that it was he who introduced Michalek to WWE Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon.

“Reality was not a partial of a story,” he writes.

Roberts outlines in fact how Michalek became so renouned backstage, starting with a initial time he met him and his father Steve during a Jan. 26. 2014 taping of a “Royal Rumble” pay-per-view in Pittsburgh.

“(Connor Michalek) held my eye as it looked like maybe he was going by some severe times,” wrote Roberts, who also posted several photos of himself and Michalek with his letter on Medium.

Roberts goes on to report in fact his loyalty with Michalek, that enclosed weekly Facetime sessions, during that Roberts would perform Michalek during his medical treatments by video-chatting with him from a set of “Raw” on Monday nights.

When it came time to tell Michalek’s story — including what it portrayed during Michalek’s Hall of Fame initiation rite — and how he became a backstage favorite among WWE superstars, however, Roberts says WWE re-wrote a story with bigger names, including fan favorite Daniel Bryan, who is set adult in association press element to demeanour like a categorical go-between, between a association and a Michaleks.

“Daniel was always good to (Connor) when they were face-to-face during a arenas,” Roberts writes. “Daniel is a peculiarity chairman and implausible performer. we feel bad that a association put him in a position where people on a outward competence assume they were closer than they were.”

Roberts also writes about a video WWE done to foster a fundraising present Connor’s Cure that a association set adult in respect Michalek, who died on Apr 25, 2014. The video showed Michalek smiling and happy alongside McMahon, Triple H, Bryan and others, though did not discuss a close loyalty Roberts says he had grown with Michalek.

The video was quick put on complicated revolution in all WWE programming and Roberts was a chairman who had to deliver it. He says his boss, who he doesn’t name, would provoke him about it, notwithstanding suggestive Roberts was still lamentation for his immature friend.

“Between how unhappy it was not to have Connor anymore, and to be forced to watch a revised chronicle of history – a story that was really personal and suggestive to me – the prick deepened,” Roberts wrote. “My trainer even done a fun out of me creation a proclamation during a TV events. He would time me and bluster to cut my microphone if we did not finish a proclamation quick enough. And this arrogant opinion was generally frustrating for me. After all, it was critical to a association to uncover this video (bordering on propaganda), and a association wanted me to contend something after – but make it snappy!”

Roberts concludes WWE used a “rewrite” of Michalek’s story “to pat themselves on a behind for being a standup organization.”

“I wish Connor’s Cure and Connor’s initiation into a Hall of Fame were driven by frankness and not strategy,” he writes.

Shortly after Roberts published his letter on Medium, a Twitter comment for Connor’s Cure, that is reportedly run by Michalek’s father, posted two tweets about Roberts.

Regardless of what said, @JustinRoberts desired Connor and we adore him.That’s what counts.I will never 4get all he did for Connor, and now me.

Roberts isn’t a usually chairman to doubt a motives behind WWE’s munificent endeavors. A twitter equating hospitality to selling posted on Stephanie McMahon’s central Twitter comment on a day Michalek was inducted into a Hall of Fame, elicited several disastrous responses from fans online. Roberts also mentions a twitter in his essay, noting, “I felt like we was punched in a gut” when he review it.

@StephMcMahon So your association usually gives to present for a “free press” always make certain a camera is around form of deal? DISGUSTING!

WWE shielded a revelation of Michalek’s story and a other munificent endeavors to The Washington Post on Friday:

“It is descent to advise that WWE and a executives had anything though charitable intentions in honoring Connor and his bequest with The Warrior Award. In and with Connor’s father, Connor’s Cure was determined by Stephanie McMahon and Paul Levesque to lift recognition and supports for pediatric cancer, and to respect a child that so many people within a WWE family came to love. The account is managed by a Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh Foundation and has already lifted some-more than $200,000 for pediatric cancer research. …

“WWE is unapproachable to use a tellurian platforms to lift recognition for critical amicable causes, including Connor’s Cure as good as a longstanding partnership with Make A Wish, a persisting partnership with Susan G. Komen, that has resulted in some-more than $1.5 million in supports raised, and a general partnership with Special Olympics.”

Michalek’s father Steve has had usually good things to contend about WWE publicly.

“My family is perpetually beholden for a present that WWE, a Superstars, Divas and executives gave to Connor,” Steve Michalek pronounced in a WWE press matter final final month. “They done him grin and speedy him to continue fighting. His visits backstage, and his time in a ring with Daniel Bryan, brought Connor loyal fun and positively extended his life, giving us some-more time with him. Now, with this endowment and Connor’s Cure, Connor’s bequest will live on.”